Read Novel Full Chapter 110 Part 2 – Big Spender (II)
Chapter 110 Part 2 – Big Spender (II)
Tong Yi was in the middle of class when he suddenly received a text message from Wen Wan. She informed him that his cousin had donated a bunch of equipment to their university and even attended the school’s anniversary event to personally present an award to Jiang Li!
The moment he saw the message, Tong Yi couldn’t stay calm. As soon as the class bell rang, he called his assistant. After finding out exactly how much Tong Xu had donated, he dialed Jiang Li’s number. Trying to sound casual, he asked, “I heard Tong Xu came to your school?”
“Yeah, he donated quite a bit of equipment and attended as a VIP guest,” Jiang Li replied.
Tong Yi was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, “He really is such a great philanthropist.”
Jiang Li was surprised. “You’re not even mocking him?”
She knew Tong Yi didn’t like his cousin and was always blunt, never one to say insincere things. So it was unexpected to hear him actually call Tong Xu a ‘great philanthropist.’
Then she heard Tong Yi said sincerely, “He donated way more than what he’s earned in the past six months. That’s something only a truly generous soul could do. Why would I mock him?”
Jiang Li: “…”
She suddenly realized that when Tong Yi used the phrase ‘great philanthropist,’ it probably wasn’t a compliment. In fact, it sounded more mocking than mockery itself!
“Jiang Xiao Li, Tong Xu donated all that equipment clearly out of an ulterior motive. I know he’s not over you. You’re not moved by his gesture, are you?”
Since it was over the phone, Jiang Li was not aware that Tong Yi was especially tense at this moment. She answered nonchalantly, “The donation is between him and the school. What does it have to do with me?”
Tong Yi finally let out a breath of relief and joked lightly, “I think, if you really want to win over a little money-grubber like you, the smartest thing would be to hand the money straight to you.”
Jiang Li burst out laughing. “Nicely said, big nephew. Seems like you really get me.”
Tong Yi said lazily, “Of course. After all these years of knowing you, no one understands you better than I do.”
“Well, if you understand me that well, how come I’ve never seen you give me any money?” Jiang Li teased.
Tong Yi sounded surprised. “Jiang Xiao Li, haven’t I given you enough dividends? What, you want me to start throwing cash at you now?”
Jiang Li paused for a moment. “Dividends?”
“Yeah, dividends. Jiang Xiao Li, I’m seriously starting to suspect you’ve never checked the balance on that card I gave you,” Tong Yi said, a bit helpless.
To be honest, he was shocked that she’d never looked at the balance on that card. But it was also partly his fault—when he gave the card to her, he intended it for her to use freely, so he never activated text notifications. Otherwise, the lack of any spending alerts would’ve clued him in.
“You’re right, I really haven’t checked.” Jiang Li said with a laugh. “Is there actually a lot of money on it?”
Tong Yi kept it mysterious. “Whether it’s a lot or a little, you’ll know once you check it.”
Now Jiang Li became genuinely curious. Tong Yi had mentioned dividends before, but she’d only invested twenty thousand yuan—so even if it doubled or tripled, it wouldn’t be anything too exciting. That’s why she’d never bothered to check the balance.
But with Tong Yi acting all mysterious, it either meant there was a lot of money and she’d be shocked, or there was hardly anything and he just wanted to mess with her.
After hanging up, Jiang Li turned to Wen Wan. “There should be an ATM nearby, right? I want to check the balance.”
Just as she finished speaking, Zhang Rongrong walked in. Hearing Jiang Li’s question, she couldn’t help but chimed in, “Why not just link the card to your phone and check or use it online? That’s way more convenient.”
Jiang Li noticed she was wearing a man’s suit jacket but didn’t pay it much mind. She simply replied, “It’s not my own card, so I can’t link it.”
Wen Wan picked up her jacket and put it on. “There’s an ATM in the snack alley. Let’s go.” Today wasn’t a weekend, but because of the school anniversary, there were no classes all day. It was free activity time for students, and she had been itching to get out since morning!
“Sounds good.” Jiang Li nodded. “Let’s stop by some boutiques too—I need to pick up a few things for winter.”
Wen Wan immediately agreed. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”
Zhang Rongrong: “…”
These two talked about buying clothes like they were buying snacks! If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought their clothes were cheap or something—but the truth was, any single piece of clothing they wore was at least two months of her living expenses.
Once again, Zhang Rongrong reminded herself never to compare herself to those two, or she would drive herself into an early menopause!
Another roommate, Zhou Ting, noticed the jacket on Zhang Rongrong and commented, “That’s from the donor, right?”
Zhang Rongrong immediately became excited. “Yeah, I was showing Mr. Tong around campus earlier. He saw I was cold and gave me his jacket. He’s really nice.”
Zhou Ting nodded and said nothing more.
But Zhang Rongrong wasn’t done. “That Mr. Tong is actually Tong Yi’s cousin. You know who Tong Yi is, right? The guy who’s always coming to see Jiang Li. I’ve never even seen him buy her flowers, and he always uses her meal card to eat. I never would’ve guessed he’s from a rich family.”
Zhou Ting just gave a brief “mm” and didn’t respond further.
Zhang Rongrong: “…”
There were clearly four beds in the dorm, but most of the time, she felt like she was the only one really living there!
…
Jiang Li and Wen Wan left campus together and headed straight for the ATM on Snack Alley. After inserting the card into the machine, Jiang Li recalled that Tong Yi had said the password was her birthday, so she entered the six-digit number and followed the prompt to select ‘Check Balance.’
When the string of numbers appeared, Jiang Li’s eyes widened in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, then immediately pulled Wen Wan over. “Help me take a look at the balance. I don’t think I’m seeing this right.”
Wen Wan gave a quick “Oh,” and stepped up to the ATM. She counted softly, “Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions, ten-millions… hundred million?!”
When she reached the last digit, she cried out, “Jiang Li, is the machine broken or something? I’ve never seen so much money in my life!”
Jiang Li calmly stepped forward, took the card and put it back in her pocket, then took a deep breath. “To be honest, I’ve never seen this much money either.”
While she was never short on money, she usually used supplementary cards provided by her family. Her grandfather and uncle would sometimes transfer extra funds to her, but she had never seen a balance like this!
Wen Wan asked curiously, “You said earlier that this wasn’t your card. So who gave it to you?”
“Tong Yi,” Jiang Li replied truthfully.
“Tong Yi? Where did he get that kind of money?” Wen Wan was stunned.
“He’s been playing with investments for a while now. Always going on about guaranteed profits and no losses. I thought he was just bragging, but apparently, it’s true.” Jiang Li was just as shocked—she had never expected Tong Yi to be that good at making money.
Wen Wan took several deep breaths to calm herself, “Why would Tong Yi give you so much money? Don’t tell me it’s a proposal gift?”
Jiang Li didn’t bother correcting her phrasing and patiently explained, “After the high school entrance exam, Tong Yi went abroad. When I saw him off at the airport, he asked me to invest in him, so I gave him twenty thousand yuan. Later, when he came back, he gave me this card and said it was for regular dividend payouts.”
Wen Wan was even more amazed. “A twenty-thousand investment? Regular dividends? This… this… am I dreaming?”
“I’m going to call Tong Yi,” Jiang Li said after a moment of ponder. “I think he might’ve transferred it to the wrong card by accident.”
Wen Wan immediately nodded. “I think so too. It’s still his card, right? It’s totally possible he meant to transfer that money to a different account.”
After leaving the ATM, the two went to a nearby park. Jiang Li found a bench and sat down, then called Tong Yi.
As soon as the call connected, her first words were, “Big nephew, did you strike it rich?”
Tong Yi was momentarily stunned, then laughed. “Don’t tell me you always thought I was broke?”
“Not exactly. But I just checked the balance on that card you gave me—it has over two hundred million on it. Were you drunk when you make the transfer? Did you double check the number?” Jiang Li tried to keep her voice neutral, not wanting to sound like someone who’d never seen real money.
“Do I seem like such a careless guy?” Tong Yi chuckled.
“When have you ever not been careless?” Jiang Li retorted instinctively.
“Jiang Xiao Li, first you doubted my investment skills, now you’re doubting my intelligence?” He sighed loudly. “You’re putting me in a tough spot here.”
“Stop dodging. Just explain why you gave me so much money!”
Tong Yi chuckled. “You invested in me, I paid you dividends. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?”
Jiang Li’s tone was icy, “I gave you twenty thousand. You gave me two hundred million. You call that dividends?”
Tong Yi suddenly felt a bit guilty, but quickly replied with confidence, “When I was starting out, I didn’t have much money. I used yours to earn my first big break—what’s wrong with giving you a bit extra in return?”
“…” Jiang Li was stunned. His argument kind of made sense, but something still felt very off!
“Jiang Xiao Li, that money seems like a lot, but only because you never used it. It just accumulated over time. If you’d checked the balance earlier and spent some regularly, there wouldn’t be nearly as much now,” Tong Yi said, coaxing.
Jiang Li immediately countered, “I’m not that much of a spender. The way you’re talking makes it sound like I love eating cash for breakfast.”
Tong Yi laughed. “Eating cash for breakfast wouldn’t be so bad. As long as I can keep earning, I don’t mind giving you some extra for snacking.”
Honestly, he kind of hoped Jiang Xiao Li would be such a big spender—then he’d be even more motivated to earn.
That said, he couldn’t actually say that to her—not yet. It might come off wrong.
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Author’s Note:
Author’s Note:
Feng Qi: “I’m starting to feel like I should make a trip to see Xiao Lizi soon.”